Reduced Shakespeare Company Podcast

William Oliver Watkins plays Orsino (left, with Caitlin McWethy as Viola) in the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company production of Twelfth Night, after playing the title role in CSC’s production of Othello last season. Will talks about the similarities and challenges of the two roles and what it’s like to return to his home town of Cincinnati from where he lives now in New York City, gives shout-outs to mothers specifically and English teachers generally, reveals revelations about Tom Selleck’s mustache and the saga of Luke Cage’s little brother, explains the things they don't teach you in acting school, and talks about the glory of doing Shakespeare in the Park (not that one). (Length 20:28) 

Caitlin McWethy and Abby Lee play Viola and Olivia in the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company production of Twelfth Night directed by the RSC's own Austin Tichenor, and prior to the show's opening this week, sat down to talk about their characters and how this production differs from other productions they’ve seen and been in. Featuring the wonder of two women sharing scenes onstage (and the weirdly specific thing that makes it possible), Viola’s narrative burden, definitive roles we’re dying to play (lookin’ at you, Valentine), the question of why Olivia is not a more generally-desired role in the Shakespearean canon, Olivia’s similarity to Kate from Taming of the Shrew, the magic alchemy of shared grief, roles that allow for greater interpretive freedom, wonderful surprises, hitting that sweet spot between fun n’ games and tragedy, and the joy of laughing and crying in rehearsal. (Length 21:08)

Oregon Shakespeare Festival Director of Literary Development and Dramaturgy Amrita Ramanan talks about the role of the dramaturg at a theatre dedicated to a playwright who's been dead for 402 years, and discusses the planning and programs OSF has put in place to create a canon of new Histories, Comedies, Tragedies, and Romances. Our highly caffeinated conversation features distinctions between institutional dramaturgy and production dramaturgy, studying the intent of the text, carrying a sense of engagement, determining what a 400 year old play means today, identifying the ethos and identify of Shakespeare’s work, how a dramaturg’s job is very similar to a director’s, the value of gadflies, thematic connectivity, harnessing the all-important dramaturgy of the actor, and how producing new work and new playwrights, in addition to producing his 400 year old plays, actually does the greatest honor to Master Shakespeare himself. (Length 17:51

Director Kristen Osborn talks about serving as assistant director to Daniel Sullivan on the Shakespeare Center of Los Angeles production of both parts of Henry IV earlier this summer, which starred Tom Hanks as Falstaff, Joe Morton (Scandal, Brother From Another Planet) as Henry IV, and Hamish Linklater (Fargo, Legion, The Newsroom) as Hal. Kristen discusses how the script was abridged and cast and also shares insights into how the emphasis of Shakespeare's History gets transformed by star quality. Featuring music by Michael Roth, shout-outs to our own Jeff Marlow, mysterious secrets of the pocket gopher, becoming invaluable, digging into the work, figuring out backstage traffic, transforming the space, changing class distinctions, putting in understudies, feeling like a fraud, what this gig might lead to, how to double a cast of “only” nineteen people, a growing love of Shakespeare, and how a young director shapes her career. Recorded live at The Celtic Knot in Evanston; Where else to talk about Henry IV but in a pub?! (Length 23:29)

Chris Jones is the chief theatre critic and Sunday cultural columnist for the Chicago Tribune, has also been recently named a reviewer for the New York Daily News, and has just written Rise Up! Broadway and American Society from Angels in America to Hamilton. Despite this hectic schedule of seeing and writing about theatre, Chris made time to chat about the role of the critic, how criticism has changed over the years and are a necessary (and valuable!) part of the ecosystem, what most great plays are about, examining not whether a play is good but what it means, an addiction to living in make-believe worlds, what happens when critics screw up, how writing about theatre is writing about life, the reality of complex relationships, the value and drawbacks of moving on to the next show, the nature of ensemble, the greatness of pre-Broadway tryouts, the democratization of critical voices, how ambition is devoutly to be wished, and what’s been the most fundamental change in criticism in the last 20-30 years. (Length 27:29)

Austin Tichenor is directing Twelfth Night at the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company this fall, and it turns out he's almost the only one at Cincy Shakes or the RSC who's never worked on it before! Fortunately, RSC members Teddy Spencer, Jerry Kernion, and Dominic Conti, plus Chicago actress and professor of acting at Northwestern University Cindy Gold, are able to give him tips and insights into the play and its characters because they've all done Twelfth Night multiple times. Featuring discussions of the text, Shakespeare’s authorial intent, the driving force that is Maria, the difficulty of Malvolio, spectacular insight into Sir Toby Belch, the value of dumb shows and fencing, the way to dress Sir Andrew, excellent high-kicking, and the wonder of having a well-oiled Orsino. (Length 23:47) 

Nick Sandys is the artistic director of Chicago’s Remy Bumppo Theatre and is currently playing both Victor Frankenstein and the Creature in the Nick Dear adaptation of Mary Shelley’s classic novel, which opens this week and runs through November 17, 2018, now also celebrating its 200th anniversary (he alternates roles with Greg Matthew Anderson). Nick talks about the power of this tale of monstrousness and how it fits into Remy Bumppo’s mission of great language driving great ideas. Featuring ways in which Shelley’s novel continues ideas expressed by Shakespeare in The Tempest, early modern analogues to rap battles, how one can highlight (and quite possibly confuse) certain issues, the precision with which one handles cultural negotiation, how the use of language — even in Shakespeare — tells you how a scene must be staged, how literature can also be a verb, how monsters are not born but made, and how one addresses the ultimate question: Who, really, is the monster? A star is shorn! (Length 22:42)

Christopher Luscombe, who’s directed in London’s West End, at Shakespeare’s Globe, and for the ‘other RSC’ (the Royal Shakespeare Company), now directs Nell Gwynn, a charming new comedy with music about the famous (or infamous) 17th Century actress now having its world premiere at the Chicago Shakespeare Theatre. Also an alumnus of the Cambridge Footlights, Chris discusses Nell the play, Nell the actress, and Nell the production. Featuring a wonderful tribute to Chicago actors, the value of being authentically English, the absolute treat of continuing to work on a play over several years, the advantage of embracing contradictions, the great thing about not being afraid of comedy, and the importance of starting from scratch every time. (Length 18:21)

Julie Felise Dubiner is associate director of Oregon Shakespeare Festival’s American Revolutions: The United States History Cycle, a multi-decade program of commissioning and developing 37 new plays sprung from moments of change in United States history. On my recent trip to Ashland, I was able to meet and chat with Julie about OSF’s program and the wonderful plays that have already come out of it, a couple of which -- Lynn Nottage's Sweat and Paula Vogel's Indecent -- appear on this season's list of Most Produced Plays in the US compiled by American Theatre magazine. Featuring the question of what it means to be American, dramatizing moments of change and the problem with tying those moments to US presidents, watching the first run-thru of this generation’s Death of a Salesman, overcoming one's shameful past in improvisation, fueling comedy with rage, how a sense of humor might save us, and the importance of writing the history of your people on to the stage. (Length 22:49)

Shana Cooper directed Taming of the Shrew at the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival this summer, a production that received rave reviews from the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. Shana, an assistant professor at Northwestern University, discusses how she made this troublesome play work in our slightly more enlightened (hopefully) and evolving era. Featuring key commedia influences, a classic battle of the sexes play that's also a satire of same, being sold on the love story, the importance of clowns, the danger and absurdity of the patriarchy, one virtue of the Christopher Sly scenes, forging unknown and thorny paths, the importance of non-verbal text, radical and revolutionary individuals, and most importantly, finding alternatives to broken systems and masculine ideas of power. (Length 28:56) (Pictured: Liz Wisan and Biko Eisen-Martin as Kate and Petruchio in the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival production of Taming of the Shrew. Photo by T. Charles Erickson.)

The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) [revised] returns for its first US tour in almost ten years! Two of our actors prepared for the tour by performing un-reduced Shakespeare this summer: Michael Faulkner (above, right) performed in Othello and the Two Noble Kinsmen for Kingsmen Shakespeare Company in Thousand Oaks, CA, while Jeff Marlow (above, left) played three roles in the Shakespeare Center of Los Angeles production of Henry IV, which featured a young up-and-comer named Tom Hanks as Falstaff. Michael and Jeff discuss the importance of calf exercises, the strengths and limitations of LPMs (Laughs Per Minute) as an appropriate barometer, actor shorthand, honoring laughs, opening doors for yourself, unlikely expectations, the magic of theatrical alchemy, and the wonderful relationship between performing actual full-length Shakespeare — and then reducing it. (Length 18:32)

Anthony Pound is the Associate Director of Education and Youth Engagement at the New Victory Theatre in New York City, and now that school is back in session Anthony tells us all about  NewVic's award-winning Usher Corps theatre internship program. Featuring robust education departments, amazing lower lobbies, incredible online resources, briefing and debriefing, winning awards, post-show workshops, pursuing realistic careers in the arts, shout-outs to Sunset Cultural Center and Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, and finally, fabulous encounters with former first ladies. (Length 20:12)

Kevin Kenerly is a 22-year veteran of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and is currently playing Richard Burbage in Lauren Gunderson’s The Book of Will (after having played Burbage in Shakespeare in Love in 2017). Kevin talks with Austin Tichenor (who played Burbage in the Northlight Theatre production in 2017 and blogged about it for the Folger Shakespeare Library) about his approach to playing Shakespeare’s leading man, how he first came to Shakespeare, how the role of Burbage resembles Cyrano de Bergerac, inspirational teacher shoutouts, impressive instruments, the magic of different interpretations, a love for language, the pleasure of needing no clue, Michael Caine aphorisms, how theatre sleeps when we do, and ultimately how Shakespeare and microbrew prove to be an unbeatable combination. Featuring a special appearance from Lauren Gunderson herself! (Pictured: David Kelly as Henry Condell, Kevin Kenerly as Richard Burbage, and Jeffrey King as John Heminges. From the Oregon Shakespeare Festival production of Lauren Gunderson's The Book of Will, directed by Christopher Liam Moore.) (Length 22:56)

Barnstormers Theatre in New Hampshire is producing our rarely-seen show Western Civilization: The Complete Musical (abridged), which we created in 1998 under its original title The Complete Millennium Musical (abridged). Director Blair Hundertmark and cast members (l to r) Jordan Ahnquist, Cheryl Mullings, and Rachel Alexa Norman discuss learning and updating the script and the songs, getting comfortable with audience participation, the freedom to go with the flow, lyrics that make your eyes spin, encouraging seriousness and the prospect of journaling, finding a through-line, sad topicality, getting the audience on your side, sexy inquisitors, unsung heroes, and timeless inspiration from Yogi Berra. Featuring excerpts from the original cast recording, which is available from iTunes! (Length 25:04)

Director Nate Cohen is in his second year of Northwestern University’s MFA Directing program and recently created a cheeky — and slightly tongue-in-cheek — flowchart entitled “Should I Direct This Play (A Guide for Well-Intentioned Cis Het White Men).” Nate posted the chart on Facebook and tagged, among other people, American Theatre magazine, which retweeted it and prompted much national discussion and a little bit of blowback. Nate discusses his own intentions and the issue of taking up space; the dangers of getting stuck in an irony loop; the cautionary tale of Robert LePage; the fact of walking like a (straight white) man; the reason it’s a guide, not a rulebook; vital interactions with Lauren Gunderson; the potential danger of artist-splaining; a grateful shout-out to the Hawkins Family (and this live concert recording in particular); the importance of thinking through things critically and not being a dick; and ultimately, the valuable question of how do we do better? (Length 27:46)